Blondes don’t get much more exotic than Christi Shake, who has the built bod of a classic California girl despite busting out of Baltimore as a mix of Czech, Dutch, Swedish, and Polish beauty. Christi Shake also shook up Playboy when she became Playmate of the Month in the May, 2002 issue. She had already made the cover of Playboy in her first shoot for the mag as part of a 2001 Special Edition celebrating college girls. The big blonde wasn’t your typical Playmate, but had the personality to get the magazine to skip its girl-next-door vibe long enough to go with Christi’s amazing presence. [photo via…]

Christi had already overwhelmed a few types with some earlier modeling work, but she spent the next several years as a Playboy favorite. She really helped bring the Playboy empire into the new millennium–including plenty of wild work for Playboy’s assorted special editions featuring girl/girl antics. Christi has also done some reality television, and was easily the most captivating thing about Antonio Sabato Jr’s quest for love on the VH1 series My Antonio.

Fortunately, that didn’t pan out for Antonio, and Christi Shake is turning 34(!) years old today as a single gal–and one who’s daring as ever in front of the camera. Take a look at these surprisingly recent pics and see why Christi is still one of the most eligible bachelorettes around…